Marina or Malintzin (c. 1500 – c. 1529), more popularly known as La Malinche, was a Nahua woman from the Mexican Gulf Coast, who became known for contributing to the Spanish invasion of the Aztec Empire (1519–1521), by acting as an interpreter, advisor, and intermediary for the Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés. She was one of 20 enslaved women given to the Spaniards in 1519 by the natives of Tabasco. Cortés chose her as a consort, and she later gave birth to their first son, Martín – one of the first Mestizos (people of mixed European and Indigenous American ancestry) in New Spain.
Captivity and languages
Malinche's birthdate is unknown, but it is estimated to be around 1500, and likely no later than 1505. She was born in an altepetl that was either a part of or a tributary of a Mesoamerican state, whose centre was located on the bank of the Coatzacoalcos River to the east of the Aztec Empire. Records disagree about the exact name of the altepetl where she was born.
In three unrelated legal proceedings that occurred not long after her death, various witnesses who claimed to have known her personally, including her daughter, said that she was born in Olutla. The probanza of her grandson also mentioned Olutla as her birthplace. Her daughter added that the altepetl of Olutla was related to Tetiquipaque, although the nature of this relationship is unclear. In the Florentine Codex, Malinche's homeland is mentioned as "Teticpac", which is most likely the singular form of Tetiquipaque.
Gómara writes that she came from "Uiluta" (presumably a variant of Olutla). He erroneously believed that it was in the region of Jalisco (which was territory of the Purépecha Empire by then, thus making his assumptions highly unlikely). Díaz, on the other hand, gives "Painalla" as her birthplace. Her family is reported to have been of noble background; Gómara writes that her father was related to a local ruler, while Díaz recounts that her parents were rulers.
Interpreting during the conquest
Motecuçoma was told how the Spaniards were bringing along with them a Mexica Indian woman called Marina, a citizen of the settlement of Teticpac, on the shore of the North Sea, who served as interpreter and said in the Mexican language everything that Captain don Hernando Cortés told her to. Early in his expedition to Mexico, Cortés was confronted by the Maya at Potonchán. In the ensuing battle, the Mayas suffered significant loss of lives and asked for peace.
In the following days, they presented the Spaniards with gifts of food and gold, as well as twenty enslaved women, including Malinche. The women were baptised and distributed among Cortés's men, who expected to use them as servants and sexual objects. Malinche was given to Alonso Hernández Puertocarrero, one of Cortés' captains. He was a first cousin to the count of Cortés's hometown, Medellín. Malinche's language skills were discovered when the Spaniards encountered the Nahuatl-speaking people at San Juan de Ulúa. Moctezuma's emissaries had come to inspect the peoples, but Aguilar could not understand them.
Historian Gómara wrote that, when Cortés realised that Malinche could talk with the emissaries, he promised her "more than liberty" if she would help him find and communicate with Moctezuma. Cortés took Malinche from Puertocarrero. Aided by Aguilar and Malinche, Cortés talked with Moctezuma's emissaries. The emissaries also brought artists to make paintings of Malinche, Cortés, and the rest of the group, as well as their ships and weapons, to be sent as records for Moctezuma.
An enduring and contested historical figure
Conquistadores in their writings emphasize the importance of a reliable interpreter like Malinche and suggest that Malinche's role and influence were larger still. Bernal Díaz del Castillo, a soldier who wrote as an old man, speaks repeatedly and reverentially of her importance. Conquistadors on various occasions recalled that one of Malinche's greatest skills had been her ability to convince other Natives of what she could perceive: that it was useless in the long run to stand against Spanish metal (arms) and Spanish ships. Despite this, after Malinche began assisting Cortés, the Spanish were forced into combat on multiple occasions. Primary evidence from Indigenous sources is even more indicative, both in the commentaries about Malinche's role and in her prominence in the codex drawings made of conquest events.
Malinche's image has become a mythical archetype that artists have represented in various forms of art. Her figure permeates historical, cultural, and social dimensions of Mexican cultures. In modern times and several genres, she is compared with La Llorona (folklore story of the woman weeping for lost children), and the Mexican soldaderas (women who fought beside men during the Mexican Revolution) for their brave actions. La Malinche's legacy is one of myth mixed with legend and the opposing opinions of the Mexican people about the legendary woman.